


Scenes from an Italian Restaurant

by ellyerin



Series: Peter Parker Meets the Avengers [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Renegotiated Sokovia Accords, Avengers Tower, Domestic Avengers, Gen, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Peter Park Meets Natasha Romanoff, Peter Park Meets Steve Rogers, Peter Parker Meets the Avengers, Stark Tower
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:40:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25978357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellyerin/pseuds/ellyerin
Summary: Steve agrees to hang out with Nat while Clint is gone. They're in an Italian restaurant when they spot Tony at another table, with a woman and child. They try to figure out who the kid could be.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov
Series: Peter Parker Meets the Avengers [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1817749
Comments: 34
Kudos: 1213





	Scenes from an Italian Restaurant

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so, really only the first half is in an Italian restaurant, but I couldn't resist the Billy Joel reference.

Steve had been planning a normal weekend. Training, reading, maybe sketching a bit in Central Park. He was not about to let Nat wrap him up in some crazy, ethically ambiguous, probably dangerous activity. 

“But Clint’s gone for a whole week. And it’s Friday, and Friday we usually do something together.”

Steve raised an eyebrow but didn’t look up from his book. “Something like what?”

“People watching, skyscraper climbing, motorcycle racing…”

Steve narrowed his eyes at her, looking up. “You don’t own a motorcycle.”

“We borrow them.” She shrugged.

Steve grunted in disapproval. “I’m not doing any of that with you.”

“Okay,” she sighed. “What about dinner?”

“Dinner?”

“Dinner.”

“Like normal dinner? At a restaurant? Where we do normal things and eat food like normal people?” Steve asked. 

“Yes, Steve. Normal dinner.”

He considered. He was hungry, and it’d been a while since he ate out. Besides, it would probably be nice to relax with Nat. Spending time with team members was good for their cohesion as a unit. 

“Okay,” he agreed. “Normal dinner at a normal restaurant. Let’s do it.”

“Great!” Nat smirked.

* * *

So here they were, at a normal Italian restaurant. Steve scoured the menu, trying to narrow down his choices.

Steve looked up to ask Nat what she was going to get, but her eyes were set on something just over his shoulder. Something about her demeanor told him to ask before he looked. 

“Nat…?” He began.

“Don’t turn around.”

His shoulders tensed. “Something I should be worried about?” His mind started running through possible exits they might be able to sneak out of if necessary. How many civilians were in here? If they needed a fight, they’d have to make sure it gets outside. 

Nat’s eyes flashed between him and whatever subject was over his shoulder. “Steve,” she paused. “Tony’s here.”

Relief flooded through Steve. Also, slight irritation at being led on like that. “What? Why wouldn’t you just say that?” He began to turn his head in Tony’s direction. 

“Stop.” She commanded, so he did. “He’s not alone.”

Steve narrowed his eyes. “Geez, Nat, just tell me what you’re looking at. You’re making me nervous.”

She looked at him, considering, then proceeded. “He’s with a woman and a kid. They look… like a family.”

“What?” Steve asked, and then in true soldier mode, he sneaked a peek over his shoulder. Sure enough, there was Tony sitting with a pretty woman, around his age, and a teenage boy. He hadn’t had much time to look without being obvious, but they certainly looked familial. 

“Um.” Steve’s mind blanked. “Who are they?”

“I don’t know.” Nat shrugged slightly. She appeared to be looking at her menu, but she spoke as if she was looking right at them. “The owner’s walking up to them.”

“I thought you said you’d never been here,” Steve frowned. “How do you know who the owner is?”

Nat shot him a confused look. “I researched.” She replied, as if it were something everyone did before eating out. 

“You know what, this is silly. Probably just some business thing or extended family. We can ask him about it later.” Steve shook his head and looked back down at the menu. 

“He just introduced them as his family.”

“What?” Steve head whipped back up. “What do you mean?”

“The owner came over to Tony and said, ‘Have you been hiding your beautiful family from me for years?’ And Tony said ‘I guess I have.’”

Steve tried to listen, but the restaurant was loud and he couldn’t hear anything even close to that. “How can you possibly hear them in here?”

“What? Of course I can’t hear them. I’m reading lips.”

Of course. Like that was normal. “Nat,” he warned. 

“Oh, come on, don’t you wanna know?”

He felt like he should stop her, but he did want to know. If these people were part of Tony’s ‘family,’ how come they’d never met?

“What else is he saying?” he asked. 

Natasha smirked a bit and continued. “The ‘lovely lady’s’ name is May. The kid is Peter. They’re celebrating.” She paused, watching their lips. “Peter won something. Maybe a school competition? Or a game? He could be an athlete. I didn’t see the whole thing, the waiter got in my way.”

Steve watched as she tried to hold onto her view. 

“Oh.” Nat looked intrigued. 

“What?” Steve asked, maybe a little too interested. 

“She speaks Italian. She’s talking to the owner.”

“Oh. Can you tell what she’s saying?”

Nat shot him a questioning look, as if to say ‘obviously.’ “She’s making a joke about Tony. She says it’s good to have a rich man around your finger.”

Steve could hear the owner’s loud laugh, even from their table. 

“Tony said he understood her. But his Italian’s not very good. The kid looks confused, I don’t think he’s following.”

Steve felt his face turn hot. “Okay, this is weird. We’ve seen enough. We shouldn’t snoop... We can just ask Tony about it later.”

Nat frowned, but seemed to look back at her menu. “What makes you so sure he’ll tell us the truth about something he’s probably been keeping from us for years? Sixteen or so, by the looks of that kid.”

Now Steve frowned too. “Well, maybe he… just hadn’t found a way to tell us yet. We’re not keeping secrets anymore. That’s part of the arrangement. Besides, just because that kid is 16ish doesn’t mean Tony’s known him for 16 years, even if he is his… well even if they are related.”

Things hadn’t been immediately perfect when they moved back into the Tower. It had taken a lot of adjustment, some fighting, and training/bonding exercises to get to a point where they were all comfortable together again. Now, it’d been a long time since then, and they’d grown as close as they ever were as a team. They didn’t hide things from each other. At least, Steve thought they didn’t. 

Steve looked back to Nat who had her eyebrow raised at him. “Yeah, I’m sure Tony will tell us all about his secret family if we just ask. Not like he’s sensitive about that sort of thing.”

* * *

Peter smiled as May and Tony spoke to the restaurant owner in Italian. He didn’t know what they were saying, but it made him feel warm anyway. He tried to focus on that instead of the overwhelming feeling of being watched. 

This wasn’t uncommon to Peter, especially when he was around Tony. People were always watching Tony. But that didn’t mean Peter got used to the feeling. Peter looked over to May, who seemed concerned about him. She must’ve said something, but Peter hadn’t heard her. 

“Tony, someone’s watching us.”

Peter was trying hard to suppress his instincts, but he could feel eyes on him from the back corner of the restaurant. His brain was telling him it was probably nothing, but it wasn’t so easy to calm down his senses. 

Tony looked at him for a moment, considering. “Probably just someone who recognized me,” Tony offered, but he frowned. He looked around the restaurant. “Where are they, can you tell?” 

“Back corner of the restaurant, over my left shoulder.”

Tony looked towards where he said, discreetly. But the feeling of being watched was fading. Whoever it was must have left, or at least looked away. 

“I don’t see anything suspicious. Is it still bothering you?”

“No, I don’t feel anything anymore,” Peter sighed. “You’re right, probably just someone who recognized you. Forget I said anything.”

Tony nodded slightly, but he was still looking around the restaurant. Peter frowned. He didn’t mean to put his mentor on edge. 

* * *

“We should sneak out the back.”

“What? Why would we do that? We haven’t even ordered!”

“Tony’s facing us right now. We’re lucky he hasn’t seen us yet. They’re sitting right next to the door. How could we walk out without them seeing us?”

“Why do we need to leave? What’s the problem with them seeing us? We’re eating dinner. They’re eating dinner. No one’s committed a crime here, Nat.”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh yeah? Why don’t we just go ahead and introduce ourselves then? If there’s no problem.”

Steve blanched. That would definitely be awkward. Not to mention, Tony would definitely think they’d been spying on him. Which wasn’t exactly untrue. Wait a minute. 

“Did you plan this? Did you know they’d be here?”

“What?” Nat looked offended. “Of course not. If I was gonna spy on Tony, I would’ve come up with a much better - and much more discreet - plan than this.” She smiled. “I’m just lucky.”

Steve frowned. That was true, he supposed, about her being more discreet than this. Being out in the open wasn’t really her style.

“So what’s it gonna be?” She asked. “Are we introducing ourselves to the lovely Stark family… or sneaking out the back?”

Steve paused. This really hadn’t been part of his plan. 

“Okay, let’s take the back.”

* * *

Back at the Tower, Steve and Nat mulled over the possibilities. 

“Maybe Tony and that woman were cousins. And the kid was her kid.”

“No. They were definitely being flirty. Even if it was just teasing. I know Tony’s a flirty guy, but nobody flirts with their cousin.” Nat frowned. “Besides, Tony doesn’t have any cousins. Even if he found a long lost cousin somehow, I don’t think he’d care that much to reach out. There has to be some closer connection.”

Steve frowned again, trying to avoid the obvious conclusion. “Well, Tony’s a billionaire. Maybe it’s some sort of charity thing? For PR. Maybe that kid’s a charity case.”

“If it was a PR thing, how come it was so private? It definitely wasn’t some sort of publicity stunt - there was no publicity. Besides, I’m not sure what kind of charity case that kid would be. He looked really healthy. And that woman was clearly his guardian, so not an orphan.”

“...an intern?” Steve offered feeblily. 

Nat shot him a questioning look. “Yeah, I’m sure Tony really bonds with SI interns. Takes ‘em all out for celebratory dinners at fancy Italian restaurants?”

Steve rubbed his face with his hands. Okay, so, maybe that one was far fetched. 

But it gave him an idea. 

“FRIDAY!”

“Yes, Captain Rogers?”

“Who did Tony go to dinner with tonight?”

Nat looked over at him, a little impressed. There was a slight pause. “Boss did not make note of a dinner on his schedule.”

Steve frowned. But Nat pressed on. 

“Did he make note of something tonight? A sports game, or a competition?”

“Boss attended an Academic Decathlon competition at 5:00PM. As he has yet to return, it is possible that he attended dinner after that event.”

Two sets of eyes went wide. “Did he know someone competing in the academic decathlon?” Nat asked. 

Another pause. “I cannot disclose that information, Miss Romanoff.”

“Why not?”

“You lack the necessary security clearance.”

Nat looked a little as if she’d been slapped. She turned to Steve. “I lack the necessary security clearance? So whoever this kid is, Tony made his identity classified to everyone but himself?” She plopped down on the chair with resignation. “Yep, definitely his secret son.”

Steve stared at her wide eyed. They’d been dancing around this conclusion, but it felt so odd to hear it spoken aloud. 

Steve was about to press on with the questioning, when the elevator dinged. Tony walked out, looking down at his phone. He looked up to see them standing in the room, then back down. “Hey,” he offered. 

He was met with silence. Steve looked over to Nat, who seemed to be silently daring him to bring it up. Tony noticed the silence and looked up from his phone with a question in his eyes.

“You two good?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Steve rushed. “Just a boring night is all. I guess we’re a little out of it. How was your dinner?”

Tony’s eyebrows furrowed. He put his phone down and leaned against the kitchen counter. 

“It was good. How’d you know I was at dinner?”

Steve felt a blush rushing to his cheeks. He tried to look natural and opened his mouth to dismiss it, but Nat interrupted him.

“We asked FRIDAY where you were.”

“Oh,” Tony nodded. “Looking for me?”

“We were just gonna see if you wanted to eat with us. But you were clearly, already at dinner, so. No need.” 

Steve knew he seemed off. Maybe he could lie well in combat, to strangers and enemies, but lying unexpectedly to a friend was not something he was good at. 

“K.” Tony sent a questioning look to Nat, who shrugged. He frowned and turned to get a popcorn bag out of the cupboard. “Alright, well, I’m going upstairs. Later.”

“Night.” Nat replied. Steve just watched him walk back to the elevator, waiting for the door to shut.

When it did, Nat looked at him. “Why didn’t you ask him?”

Steve shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just…” Steve sat down. “He’s clearly gone to some extent to keep us from finding out about this kid. Why would he tell us now?”

“You’re right. Only one way to learn the truth.”

Nat smirked deviously, and Steve really wished Clint would come back. 

* * *

This was exactly the situation Steve had been trying to avoid getting into with Nat, he thought, as he shimmied through the Tower’s vent system.

“This is ridiculous.”

“Yes, you’ve made your position very clear, Captain.” Natasha scoffed. 

“Normal people don’t climb through the vents to spy on their friends!”

“We’re not normal people! Besides, we already tried confronting him. You chickened out.”

“What about you! I didn’t hear you asking him any questions!”

“And now you don’t hear me complaining about this. Shut up, we’re about to get to his lab.”

Steve huffed but kept quiet. They shimmied in silence a little more, and then Nat stopped. Steve looked out of the vent opening beneath him to see Tony and the kid working side by side in the lab. He listened. 

“How was school? Solve any life-altering problems? Ace any tests? Ditch any classes?” Tony asked. 

“No, I did not ditch any classes. I’m sure you would’ve somehow heard all about it if I did.” The kid rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless. 

“Yeah, you’re right.” Tony paused, then grinned. “Kiss your girlfriend yet?”

“ _Tony!_ ” The kid’s face turned bright red. “She’s not my girlfriend… yet. And you’re sounding very dad-like.” Steve’s eyes shot open. 

“Yeah, yeah, okay, whatever.” Tony laughed. 

They settled into a comfortable silence as they both worked on the equipment in their hands.

* * *

Peter tried to concentrate on the metal in his hands, but he had that feeling of being watched again. He looked at Tony only to see Tony’s eyes on his own work. Peter looked around. It was one thing to feel like you’re being watched in a restaurant. It was another altogether to feel like you’re being watched when you’re supposedly alone in a top-security building. 

“Peter? You’re doing that wrong.” Tony interrupted, pointing to the tech in Peter’s hands that he was now messing up. 

But Peter ignored him. He honed his senses in on the ceiling above Tony’s head. Something was wrong. 

“Kid, look at me. Why are you staring at the ceiling?”

Peter narrowed his eyes, not sure what the problem was. But he couldn’t shake the bad feeling. 

“Tony…”

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

Peter saw the slightest dip in the metal of the vent above Tony’s head, and he jumped on Tony, pushing him out of the way. Peter heard a crash behind him and rolled off of Tony to face the intruder. Tony put his left arm over Peter and called a repulsor with his right arm. He aimed the charge at the assailant, and Peter looked up to see Captain America rubbing at his side where he’d landed when he fell out of the vent. 

Peter watched stunned as Black Widow flipped out of the vent, landing gracefully on her feet beside Captain America. She rolled her eyes. “Nice going, Steve.”

“In my defense, it was my first time sitting in a vent to spy on a friend.”

“Uh, hello. Remember us?” Tony began, indignantly. He hadn’t taken his protective arm off of Peter, and he was still aiming the repulsor at Steve. 

“You can put the repulsor down, Tony.” Nat quipped. 

“Can I!? You just fell out of my vent! What the hell’s going on?!”

“Relax. We just wanted to meet the kid.”

“Try _asking_?!” Tony shouted. 

“Oh, yeah, like you would’ve opened up? We asked FRIDAY, but apparently our clearance wasn’t high enough.”

Peter felt himself blushing, but he wasn’t totally out of defence mode. “You were the ones watching us in the restaurant.”

Nat raised her eyebrows. “How’d you know?”

Peter shrugged. “Instincts.”

She smiled. “Yeah, you seem to have pretty good instincts.” She looked toward where Captain America fell and where he was now standing up. 

“Alright. You came, you saw, you wrecked my lab. You done yet?” Tony cut in. 

Miss Romanoff ignored him. “What’s your name, kid?”

“Peter.”

“Nice to meet you, Peter.” Captain America said, brushing the debris off of his pants.

Peter nodded, excited now. “Uh, yeah, it’s very nice to meet you too, Miss Romanoff and, uh, Captain Rogers, sir.”

Tony frowned. “Why are you here?”

“How come we’ve never met him before?” Miss Romanoff countered. Peter wondered why they would want to meet him so bad. 

“Why would you have?” Tony scrunched his eyebrows. 

Miss Romanoff and Captain Rogers looked at each other, confused. Captain Rogers opened his mouth, but Miss Romanoff cut him off. “What’s he doing in your lab?”

“He’s my intern.”

Miss Romanoff’s eyes shot open, and Captain Rogers’ jaw dropped a bit. Apparently, this was not the answer they were expecting. Peter felt nervous, wondering how much they knew about him. 

“He’s your intern…” Nat began. “Why is his identity top-level classified?”

“He’s sixteen, and he works on some of the most advanced weaponry on Earth. It’s called security.” Tony gestured to the weapons sitting on the workbench, among them another of Tony’s repulsors and Captain America’s shield. Miss Romanoff and Captain Rogers took this in. 

“Who was the woman with you at the restaurant?”

Peter looked over to Tony, who looked just as confused. “That’s my aunt,” Peter replied.

“Your aunt…” Miss Romanoff nodded, and Peter felt nervous under her gaze. She turned to Tony. “And you’re not…” She trailed off. 

“Not what?” Tony asked, genuinely confused. 

“His father?” Captain Rogers supplied. 

Peter’s brain went blank. He’d been anxious they knew something about Spider-Man. This caught him totally off guard. His confused brain caught up, and all the sudden the question seemed very funny. He laughed loudly.

“Ha! I told you you act like a dad!” Peter continued laughing, looking at Tony. 

Tony rolled his eyes. “I do not act like a dad.” Tony narrowed his gaze at the others. “You really thought I had a secret family?” He rolled his eyes. “Nat, your spy skills are slipping.”

Peter stopped laughing and looked up to see a very offended Black Widow. He gulped. 

“Seen enough now? You scared my intern. We’re supposed to be working on _your_ tech.” Tony pointed at Captain Rogers and then to his shield on the workbench. 

Peter bristled. He wanted to say that they hadn’t scared him, but he figured that would just make him sound more scared. 

“Uh, sure.” Nat frowned. “Nice meeting you, kid.” 

She began walking away, leaving Captain America standing looking at Peter confused. 

“Uh, yeah, good luck with,” he gestured towards the workbench, “that stuff.”

He looked between Peter and Tony and then awkwardly walked out.

Peter sighed, looking at the door. “So,” he paused. “How long before she figures out I’m Spider-Man?”

Tony frowned. “Not sure.” He looked back at the workbench and smiled. 

“Want to mess up their stuff?”

Peter laughed, but looked over to see Tony already had his hands on Captain America’s shield. “Tony!”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! As always, feel free to comment if there's a version of Peter Parker meeting the Avengers you want to see me write.


End file.
